I wanted to. Wanted to step in and replace the stranger’s body with my own.
But I also felt like I couldn’t.
Iggy was my friend. A friend I’d pretended not to know the first time we’d crossed paths after rehab, so I’d already fucked up once. And we were both recovering addicts, trying to stay sober in an environment that practically dared us not to. On top of that, we worked together. If anything happened, it wouldn’t stay simple for long.
I knew I was getting ahead of myself, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for anything resembling a relationship when I was still this newly sober. We’d talked about it endlessly in rehab. Loss. Change. Grief. The way relationships could both save you and ruin you. What if something went wrong and sent one or both of us spiralling?
Besides, I’d never even had a real relationship before. I’d slept with people of all genders without blinking, but commitment had never been on my radar. So why the hell was I entertaining this now?
“You’re overthinking,” Riff said flatly.
I groaned and dropped my face into my hands. “Why do you have to know me so well?”
He laughed and slapped my back. “That’s what happens when you’re basically brothers.”
“You were a real dick as a kid.”
“I’m still a dick.”
Ghost chose that moment to sit down beside Riff, followed by a sweaty Thump and a girl with a blue pixie cut wearing nothing but a leopard-print thong.
Riff grinned. “Looks like I’ve got company. So run along.”
He shoved me forward until I stood, then slapped my ass hard and shouted, “Go get ’em, cowboy!”
I flipped him off and headed to where Iggy stood on the dance floor.
I was still figuring out how to cut in without starting a fight when the stranger reached into his pocket and pulled out a small clear bag containing two pink, heart-shaped pills.
And I saw Iggy freeze.
His eyes went wide as the stranger leaned in and murmured something meant only for him. Iggy shook his head, lips parting just as the guy plucked one pill from the bag and lifted it towards Iggy’s mouth.
I didn’t think. I just moved.
I grabbed Iggy’s wrist and yanked him back, pulling him out of the stranger’s arms and flush against my chest.
“Bodhi!” he gasped, startled.
“What the fuck, man?” the stranger barked.
“He doesn’t want your drugs,” I snapped.
The guy lurched forward, and Iggy flinched in my grip.
I planted my palm against the stranger’s bare chest and shoved him away. “Back. Off.”
He sneered, then scoffed. “Fuck this.” He tossed the pill into his mouth and vanished into the crowd.
“I need to talk to you,” I said, already pulling Iggy away.
I dragged him towards one of the shadowed alcoves alongthe wall, pinning him gently there. I braced one hand beside his head, shielding him from view.
“What the fuck were you doing?” I demanded.
“I was just dancing,” he shot back. “I?—”
“He offered you drugs.”
